Water Mark Method Is 'Proven' But Costly

May 25, 1986

To determine the ordinary high water mark, geologists, botanists and hydrologists -- or scientists who study the movement of water -- are called in.

The geologist digs deep trenches at random parts of the lake or river, and studies the sediments left behind. In the area where the water is dominant, one kind of sediment is found. In the area usually exposed to air, a different kind of sediment is left behind. The point where the two meet is the ordinary high water mark.

Botanists use a similar method to prove where aquatic plants yield to land- loving plants. Hydrologists study records of water levels.

'It's a proven, repeatable technique,'' said Walt Schmidt, a geologist with the Department of Natural Resources, of the method he uses to determine the line. The method was pioneered by Ernie Bishop, a geologist who studied Florida lakes in the 1960s.

The line itself is ''a very narrow band that's easily identifiable,'' Schmidt said.

On average, a lake reaches its ordinary high watermark for one month, so for most lakeshore owners the question of sovereign and non-sovereign land is a matter of common sense, Rohe said.

Douglas Thompson, assistant chief in the DNR's bureau of survey and mapping, said he hopes a shortcut can be established to whittle down the cost of determining the ordinary high water mark.

The method ''needs to be unbiased, it needs to be able to stand numerous court challenges, and it must be repeatable,'' Thompson said. He said a formula, or ''cookbook,'' explaining how to determine the line could be written so that a state-certified land surveyer could follow it. The DNR has applied for a grant through the state university system to fund the research and writing of such a handbook.

Green believes the state has a responsibility to do the research, write the handbook and set up guidelines so the water mark can be established. ''I think what this whole Marketable Records Title Act issue has shown us is we need to let everyone know what the state claims as its ownership,'' he said.

Green said the state will be flexible and willing to negotiate a settlement on many lakes.

But Jennings Overstreet said he had difficulty coming to an agreement with DNR when he started developing an exclusive golf course community, Overoaks, on Lake Tohopekaliga. After a lengthy battle, Overstreet finally agreed to the state's claim of the ordinary high water mark, and surrendered 350 acres he thought he owned.

'They're tough, especially when they've got you over a barrel,'' Overstreet said. ''They held us up for months and months. And they knew that. It was an awful bitter pill.''